Princess of Tennis Or Not
by kitsun3kidd
Summary: It's time to give Seigaku's feminine side a chance to shine! Rated T just in case.
1. Game's On

**~Princess of Tennis... Or Not~**

A/N: Okay, so this is written completely in Sakuno's point of view, and it's just a fic showing what it's like for her to join the girls' tennis club. The original idea, or at least for me, came from Tommyboy1331; she has her fic on this subject as well. I suggest reading hers: .net/s/5546509/1/ And in the meantime, enjoy my not-exactly-well-written version!

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**Chapter One: Game's On**

Feeling even more timid and shy than usual, the introvert of a girl, Sakuno, walked up slowly and hesitantly--though not reluctantly--towards the Seigaku Tennis Club sign-up table, where clusters of girls surrounded it. The brunette gripped her tennis racket case, fiddling with the zipper, all the while trying to look over the crowd on her tip-toes, hoping that someone might be able to let her through.

There was a dull tug at the bottom of her stomach as Sakuno took a glance around her. Out of all the girls signing up for the tennis club, she was probably one of the shortest... And probably the youngest (why that is, the poor girl didn't know). Letting out a soft sigh, Sakuno couldn't help but have a slight feeling of impending doom. Originally, she had wanted Tomo to join the tennis club with her, but her friend was too busy with her little brothers and had no free time. However, despite how alone she felt, Sakuno wasn't about to back down. It had taken an entire, sleepless night of contemplating for her to finally decide on what to do: join the Seigaku Tennis Club.

When the crowd seemed thin out, Sakuno eagerly walked forward, albeit too eagerly, causing her to bump into the person in front of her, earning herself an angry comment. Muttering her apologies, Sakuno recoiled from the much taller girl, hoping she won't get yelled at anymore. "I-I'm really sorry..." To be frank, Sakuno was rather afraid of the other girl. She had short, blond hair cut just right above her ears and grey eyes narrowed down to cold slits; It gave her a sense of overwhelming charisma. Sakuno braced herself.

Much to her surprise, she didn't get yelled at, and instead, the blond-haired girl merely turned her back to Sakuno, muttering something under her breath. The brunette let out a sigh of relief. After the blonde girl signed onto the sheet at the sign-up table, Sakuno quickly put down her name after the previous girl. Ah, so her name is Colette Degrand... Sounds American... Sakuno made sure to remember that, in case for future reference.

Speaking of America, Sakuno looked across the many tennis courts of the school (apparently it was a major sport here), spotting the Seigaku regulars for the boys. Of course, Echizen was in it. No surprise there. Sakuno's chest tightened both in admiration and embarassment. Echizen certainly had become quite a legend at school, often being described as the "first-year prodigy" and among many other things. She wanted so badly to be able to even play half as well as her tennis idol.

"Has everyone signed up?" the black-haired young man, whose thick, black-framed glasses always seemed to be on the verge of slipping down his nose, sitting at the sign up table called out, looking around for anyone who still wanted to join. Sakuno gave a quick glance at her watch; it was already two pm. Anyone who wanted to join after the designated time would have to contact the tennis coach directly.

"I suppose that's all, then," the young man murmured to himself, scribbling down a few more things on his clipboard, and then called all the girls over. Sakuno trailed behind the others, straining her ears to hear the man.

Giving the slightly small group of girls a large, goofy grin, young man said cheerfully, "I'm Amatus Romano (but you can call me Matt), and I'm the girls' tennis club coach for--wow, this year is the first time where there have been so many people on the team..." Sakuno assumed that it was over the influence of the boys' tennis club. "...But still not as much as the other team. That's okay, though. However, because that we have not reached the quota in members in order to actually have ranking tournaments to determine our regulars...."

There was a collective groan of disappointment around the group. Still trying to keep everyone upbeat, Matt continued, "....But it's only one more member, so--" But before the lanky tennis coach could finish his sentence, a girl's voice yelled out,

"Wait!"

Sakuno, as well as many others, turned around, curious to see who it was. A girl with her hair put up into two short, pink pigtails sprinted over, attempting to catch her breath as she held on to her tennis bag tightly in order to prevent it from completely slipping off her shoulder.

Slightly taken aback, Matt pushed his glasses up, which had somehow found its way back down on the very tip of his nose, and said, "Are you here for the girls' tennis club?" which was a rather pointless question to ask, Sakuno thought to herself, seeing that the pink-haired girl was wearing sports shorts and had a tennis bag slung over her shoulder.

"Yes," the newcomer said, somehow catching her breath within a span of five seconds. "Is it all right if I sign up now...?"

"Of course!" Matt exclaimed, albeit too enthusiastically, his brown eyes all lit up with excitement. "And somehow, you're just the person we needed in order to hold ranking tournaments!" The heavy atmosphere around the entire group of girls seemed to lift instantly, and Sakuno could only stare at the pink-haired girl curiously.

"However..." Matt said again in a serious voice, cutting through everyone's little celebration (he seemed to do that a lot, Sakuno noted to herself), "due to some weird regulations or whatnot, we will not be holding ranking tournaments until at least two months or so of practice." Again came the collective groan.

It seemed Sakuno was the only one that was relieved. Even though she honestly had no hopes of ever getting to be a regular (because she just wasn't experienced enough), she still wanted to attempt. And if she hadn't practiced at all for the ranking tournaments, then Sakuno would have absolutely no chance of making it at all. It seemed that the girls weren't as competitive as the boys. It is only later that Sakuno would realize how wrong she was.

"So, since it's the first day of practice," Matt said, "how about we start off pairing with others to play a couple of single matches? Remember, this is just practice. You don't need to be way too serious. I just want to know where each of you lie in experience and technique."

Swallowing nervously, Sakuno asked, "...In-including the first years?"

Matt glanced at her with a thoughtful look on his face. "Oh yeah, that reminds me... Because we don't have too many members, there is no division between ages."

"All right! That's great, we'll get to play the upperclassmen!" the pink haired girl piped up, filled with energy.

"Che," another girl scoffed, and Sakuno recognized that voice immediately. The blonde girl--Colette--that she had bumped into earlier had her hands stuffed into her pockets, a scowl on her face. "Don't get so hyped up... It's annoying."

"Eh? Why should I?"

Sakuno was reminded painfully of two other tennis players on the boys' team.

"Now, now, let's not get too rough here," said Matt, trying to calm the two girls down. "Umm... How about you, err... What's your name?"

It took Sakuno a couple seconds to realize that the coach was talking to her. "Err--yes?"

"Your name?"

"A-ah, right, I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno..." she said softly, lowering her eyes. As she suspected, other members of the club murmured to each other somewhere around the lines of 'Oh, she's that tennis coach's granddaughter?' and 'That Sakuno must be a really good player...', and the worst out of them was 'Ooh, maybe she'll be just like that first year prodigy in the boys' club!'. Sakuno swallowed nervously, palms clammy.

Matt didn't seem to pay much attention to this fact. "Okay then, I'll pair you up with... he looked at the blond-haired girl expectantly.

"Colette."

"...With Colette," Matt said, as if that settled things. However, both Colette and the pink-haired girl didn't seem to be at peace just yet. Sakuno walked up to the blond haired girl, not liking the awkward silence between them.

"U-umm, so you're Colette..." Sakuno tried to start the conversation as they walked towards their court (which just so happened to be the farthest away). The other girl didn't even seem to give any notice to Sakuno.

Frowning slightly, Sakuno piped up again, "Are you American? I have a friend that went to America before; he's on the boys' tennis team--"

"I'm French," Colette cut across Sakuno, eyes still narrowed.

The other girl swallowed again. As if she needed the blonde to hate her any more than she did already..."Ah, right, I'm sorry..." Sakuno tried not to whimper under that unwavering glare.

Colette let out another scoff. "Stop apologizing. It's annoying."

"I'm sorry--" Sakuno cut off herself quickly, but earned a glare from her team mate, nonetheless.

"...Let's just play."

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**A/N:** I had too much fun writing this, and I have more ideas in my head for later chapters... I'm willing to post more if people read and review! Please??


	2. Tennis Is Dangerous

**~Princess of Tennis... Or Not~**

**A/N:** Before the story shall continue, I'd just like to give my thanks to anyone that added this to their favorites or alerts or even just reviewed. Just seeing those messages in my inbox made my day--actually, it made my Christmas XD

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**Chapter Two: Tennis Is Dangerous**

A few minutes ago, Sakuno had thought that everyone at the girls' tennis club were around the same skill level. A few minutes ago, Sakuno thought that girls were not as competitive as boys. A few minutes ago, Sakuno would not have been too worried about playing against Colette. A few minutes ago, Sakuno didn't have a large, swollen bump on her head.

A few minutes later, Sakuno had a large bruise on her forehead, a completely new view of girls tennis, and was very much terrified of Colette's smashes. Walking up to the net casually, Colette asked the other girl, "Are you alright?"

"I...I'll be fine," Sakuno wobbled as she got up on her feet, feeling slightly dizzy.

"You certainly don't look it," the blonde said coldly. "I'll take you to the infirmary."

Without a word of complaint, Sakuno followed the terrifyingly violent French girl, trying not to trip as she did. "...Thanks." In a way, she was relieved; it had only been two sets and she'd already recieved an injury. Obviously, Colette was better than Sakuno had expected (of course not as good as Echizen, Sakuno thought to herself rather giddily).

By the time the two girls had reached the tennis court closest to the school, their coach ran up to them, looking rather worried. "Sakura, are you alright?" His glasses were slipping again.

"...It's Sakuno--"

"Colette, quickly, take her to the infirmary!" Matt ordered sternly.

Merely giving him a you're-such-an-idiot look, Colette said with impatience in her voice, "I was already going to."

"Eeeh? The violent lady already hurt someone?" came another voice. Sakuno wondered why everyone seemed to be grouping in one place. Not-so-coincidentally, the pink-haired girl from before walked up Colette, obnoxiously blowing bubblegum and popping it in front of her face on purpose.

"Now, now, Masaru, don't just go around and provoke people," Matt smiled, though it seemed to be rather forced. His glasses slipped again.

As if calming herself, Colette said in a rather strained voice, "It's fine. I'll take Sakuno to the infirmary now."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sakuno couldn't help but smile, even with that stabbing pain on her forehead. From the looks of it before, the two girls almost seemed like they were about to kill each other. Probably not something she wanted to see.

When they were out of range of the tennis courts, Sakuno finally managed to squeeze out a soft, "Thank you." Just paying her respects to the upperclassman. Well, she was also quite nervous around Colette, but that didn't factor in much (yeah, right).

"Don't take it personally," the other snapped, face just slightly pink, though that was probably from being angry at Masaru earlier. "I... I just don't want to cause any trouble with my... My parents."

Out of all the possibilities, Sakuno hadn't expected this answer. "Your parents...?"

"...Never mind." And so the two girls continued on their trip to the infirmary, silent the entire way.

During that short span of time, Sakuno tried to think about things rather than a slightly upset-looking Colette. Well, the only thing she came up with was how badly she was beaten by the French girl, but it was better than nothing, Sakuno supposed. She remembered that the other girl's strikes were powerful, yet you couldn't really tell where or how the other was going to hit (probably resulting in that minor head injury, Sakuno winced at the thought).

...And Colette was also quite a good player; Sakuno didn't even win a set from her... She sighed, disappointment tugging at her stomach. Why couldn't she be a bit better? Why couldn't she be more like Echizen, who played so wonderfully? Heck, even a quarter of that talent was enough.

"Come in," the nurse's voice came as Colette knocked on the door of the office. Sakuno followed suit, though rather tentatively, having never been in here before. "Oh, dear, what happened here?" she looked at Sakuno's forehead, which probably looked kind of grotesque.

"Umm..." the brunette began, not knowing what to say, until Colette interjected,

"I hit her by accident with a tennis ball."

Raising an eyebrow, but began treating Sakuno's wound nonetheless, the nurse inquired rather unbelievingly, "You got this injury from tennis?" She dabbed a bit of something onto Sakuno's forehead, causing the girl to wince in pain. "Settle down... It only hurts a little bit... Ah, but that reminds me..." the nurse took out some pads, placing them on the wound carefully, "My friend--who works at a hospital-- told me about this kid who came into his office with severely injured wrists... All from playing a tennis match! Can you believe that?"

Colette remained silent, while Sakuno could only guess who that tennis player was. When the nurse finally finished treating her injury, Sakuno bid her thanks, and said that she would be fine when attempting to leave the room. "Can you still play?" Colette inquired the younger girl.

"Yeah... This shouldn't be much of a burden on me anyway," Sakuno replied, feeling just the slightest bit more at ease. Not that she was actually comfortable around the other girl, but at least it wasn't as awkward as before. When the two reached the tennis courts, most girls had already finished their matches and gathered around the coach.

"Oh, you two are back!" Matt stated the obvious, "Sakura, are you fine now?"

"It's Sakuno... And yes, I'll be fine."

"Great!" the black-haired coach grinned. "Anyway, like any other tennis team out there--or just about any sports team--we need a captain. One that is skilled in their game but also responsible and dependable. Any nominees?" He took a look around, only seeing a couple of hands up, one of them being Masaru's.

Sakuno could feel Colette's waves of rage beside her. "Hmm... Not too many, but anyway, I'll be choosing the captain--and vice captain--but whoever that wants to become that must play matches against each otehr to see who is the most skilled. Afterwards," Matt seemed to look at Masaru just a little bit longer than others, "I'll decide who is more suited for the spot."

The pink-haired girl did not seem to notice, and piped up, "When are the matches?"

"Good question," he looked thoughtful. Sakuno didn't pay too much attention to this; she had no desire to become captain of the tennis team... As long as she could maybe--MAYBE--become a regular, Sakuno was perfectly satisfied. "Perhaps a week from now? I'm sure that's enough time to prepare..."

"Have you decided when the ranking tournament will take place?" came a small voice, and Sakuno had to actually look for that person, until she realized that the girl was sort of half-hidden by the rest of the people, except for her mop of red hair--she was so short! Another freshman, Sakuno thought to herself happily. At now there would be one other person she could potentially talk to (and add to the fact that the short girl seemed quite nice... Sakuno noted herself to talk to that red-haired girl later on).

Matt pursed his lips for a moment in deep thought, and then said, "Probably around two weeks from now... I mean, we have to participate in the district preliminaries--"

"Who will we be playing?" Masaru interjected.

"I'm not sure... It's not a team that I know very well about."

Sakuno completely forgot that the girls' tennis club, like the boys' tennis club, also participated in tournaments... Though why Sakuno never actually heard about these things, she would never know.

"Anyway, we still have about half an hour left, and since it's the first day of practice, I'll let you all just relax... And sign up for the captain matches if you want to try to get the spot!" Matt reminded everyone.

Almost immediately after the coach had set down the sign up clipboard onto the table, Masaru and Colette ran up there, already bickering over who got to write down their name first. Sakuno sighed in exasperation, but then caught sight of a few other players who also wanted to sign up. A few of them were some freshmen who just wanted to have a go at it, while others seemed to be more serious about it. Much to her surprise, the red-haired girl went up to the sign up roster as well... Sakuno tilted her head to the side in question, but did not think too much about it.

Though she could just head on home, Sakuno decided that she would go to the back of the tennis courts, where she could do a bit more practice. Having getting beaten by Colette so easily, her already-low esteem sank even lower, and Sakuno was just determined to at least improve slightly so she wouldn't lag behind too much... Bearing that thought in mind, Sakuno slung her tennis bag over her shoulder and headed for the back courts.

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**A/N:** Errrrrr yeah... Sorry to end the chapter that way... but my brain farted on this...

And let's just say that Sakuno WILL eventually get better, obviously not rising all the way to the top of the girls' tennis club, but at least quite a lot better. :) I just wanted to develop Sakuno more as a tennis player... And of course I wanted to elaborate more on the girls' team... Oh, and yes, there WILL be girls teams for Fudomine, Rikkai Dai, Yamabuki, etc. I'll probably kill myself over it, though.... If anyone has any ideas/suggestions/critiques, please feel free to post it in a review!


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